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Our Ongoing Studies
Internet Medical Education Company Receives $800,000 NIH Grant to Develop Online Pain Management Program for Physicians
SOURCE: Medical Directions, Inc.
Monday, July 7, 2003
Tucson, AZ July 7 2003: Medical Directions, Inc. announces that it has been awarded a 2½-year grant from the US National Institutes of Health to develop an online continuing medical education (CME) program to help physicians better manage patients with chronic pain. The total amount of the grant is $796,800. When completed in 2005 the online program will be available to physicians via Medical Directions' CME Web site, The Virtual Lecture Hall, www.vlh.com, as well as hospital and clinic intranets.
Company President and project Principal Investigator, John Harris Jr., MD says that the major benefit of this grant is that it will lead to the development and careful evaluation of a CME program on chronic pain management that emphasizes behavioral treatment goals rather than pharmacologic therapy. Harris, an internist, notes, "We doctors need to do a better job treating pain. Almost all pain management CME programs today, particularly ones on the Internet, are paid for by drug companies. The proper use of medications is essential to treating chronic pain, but there are other important aspects of pain management that are often overlooked by these programs. Since the data show that chronic pain affects as many as 50 million Americans, physicians clearly need objective and effective education in this area."
The project will involve experts in pain management and medical education from the University of Arizona, The University of Minnesota, The University of Wisconsin, and the University of Washington. Dr. Thomas Elliott, a national authority in pain treatment from the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Bennet Davis, the President of the Integrative Pain Center of Arizona, will direct the preparation of the educational content. Dr. Paul Gordon, from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, will help design an innovative approach to testing the effectiveness of the program in improving physician skills.
About Medical Directions, Inc: Medical Directions is a privately held company that develops online education for physicians and other health professionals. The Company works closely with medical centers, medical societies, and expert authors to develop and market CME via The Virtual Lecture Hall (www.vlh.com). Since 1998, physicians have received 55,000 hours of CME credit from The Virtual Lecture Hall. Medical Directions is a recognized leader in research in online CME. The Company has received seven NIH grants to create and evaluate online CME and has published five papers describing its work in the peer-reviewed medical literature. In 2002 MDI received a prestigious Tibbetts Award from the US Small Business Administration recognizing its work. More information on the Company can be obtained from the Medical Directions Web site, www.md-inc.com.
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| To date our research has demonstrated that problem-oriented online courses can improve physician knowledge, attitudes, and skills in such areas as cancer prevention and domestic violence. We have shown that courses developed in the US can benefit physicians in another country.
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